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China Isn’t America but Chinese and Americans Are a Lot Alike

Beijing—I was speaking with a Chinese high school student
hoping to attend college in America. We were talking about the
application process and possible essay topics. He mentioned the
championship basketball game in which he missed the last shot and
his team lost by a point. He was devastated.

What did his parents think, I asked? “They told me it was
just a game,” he responded.

What could be more American? Playing basketball, losing the big
game, and having your folks respond to teen angst with adult logic.
Americans and Chinese are living a common human experience, despite
all the obvious differences politically, historically, and
culturally.

In important ways China, still officially known as “the
People’s Republic of China,” is a grimmer place today
than when I visited last year. President Xi Jinping, whose father
suffered under Mao, is making others suffer today. A brutal and
sustained crackdown is underway on academics, human rights
activists, journalists, lawyers, and anyone else who dares stand
for individual liberty.

In a throwback to Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution which
afflicted Xi pere, attorneys were recently dragged into
court to publicly apologize for all sort of offenses against the
state—because they previously defended people arrested for
political “crimes.” It was like the old Communist Party
“self-criticism” sessions, with hapless victims sitting
in dunce caps surrounded by Red Guards searching for
“capitalist-roaders.” In fact, there is nervous talk of
Xi as the new Mao, though some wonder if he might be in unexpected
political danger having accumulated so many enemies.

Yet for those who ignore politics life goes on largely
unchanged. For instance, Chinese university students are patriots,
but also thirst for knowledge. In July I joined a motley
libertarian crew to speak on economics at a Chinese university. Out
of respect for our hosts we eschewed topics that could cause undue
controversy, but we had many spirited economics discussions.
Ironically, the week-long “summer camp” was held by the
School of Marxism, otherwise known as the business and economics
department. While not all the students were convinced by all our
arguments—just like in America!—the majority recognized
the importance of allowing private markets to work while protecting
people’s right to private property. They also were uniformly
warm personally, irrespective of what they thought of U.S.
government policies. These sessions gave me hope for the
future.

Americans and Chinese are
living a common human experience, despite all the obvious
differences politically, historically, and culturally.

Beijing is not China, a vast, diverse land with quadruple
America’s population but great poverty within. However, Beijing is
one of China’s great portals for the West, and illustrates how
Western culture is more powerful in its own way than the American
military.

The PRC’s capital is a sprawling metropolis, ever bigger and
busier. It doesn’t look like it tops a communist country. Indeed,
one wonders what Mao Zedong would think if he arose from his
massive mausoleum in Tiananmen Square and joined a tour group.
Almost certainly he would be horrified, since the transformation
demonstrates how malign his rule was. Freed of the bondage he
imposed on them, the Chinese people have created a world class
city.

The urban core has a skyline. It’s not as dramatic, even
flamboyant, as that of Shanghai, the country’s financial center.
But Beijing is nothing like Washington, D.C., where no building
rises higher than the Washington Monument.

Politics is overpowering, especially in the area near Tiananmen
Square, including Zhongnanhai, where the governing elite lives in
secure seclusion. Nevertheless, there is little sign of communist
ideology throughout most of Beijing. The city sports abundant
history, culture, and, of course, commerce. Modern bank and other
corporate buildings abound. The streets are filled with Western
autos, often causing traffic jams of which Los Angeles would be
proud. Advertising sells Western products.

If you need something simple, visit a 7-11. But why stop there?
In the capital of Chinese “socialism” private shops
abound. Better (or worse, depending on your perspective), the city
representing the triumph of the peasantry hosts the full range of
luxury shops. Want designer goods or clothes, some fine jewelry, or
that special car? No problem. A friend of mine drives a Mercedes.
But that is commonplace. Drop by a trendy nightclub and
you’re likely to see the parking lot filled with autos few
Americans can afford—Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and other
vehicles suggesting a decidedly non-communist outlook.

People dress Western. Forget Mao’s faux peasant garb. (Maybe he
thought looking like a commoner excused murdering tens of millions
of them!) Designer wear helps define the elite. With the ongoing
crackdown on corruption—at least, corruption among those on
the political outs with President Xi—ostentation is more
restrained, but hardly gone.

Of course, most Chinese, like most Americans, don’t live the
high life. It was hot in July, though not as bad as in Washington,
D.C., which I escaped for China. Shorts, ranging from athletic to
Bermuda, were de rigueur, along with jeans and sweat pants.
Footwear was a mix of running shoes, sandals, and flip-flops.
T-shirts, many displaying English-language content, were common.
Baseball caps dotted heads in a land where the American sport of
choice is basketball.

Business is conducted in a Western suit. Actually, this is one
area where I’m disappointed that communism has proved to be a
complete bust. What’s wrong with a simple and light peasant outfit,
especially sans tie? I’ve been wondering how I can start a global
movement that associates suits with counter-revolution.

Once one imagined most Chinese being short. Nutrition matters:
on average, South Koreans are a few inches taller than North
Koreans. But as the widespread interest in basketball demonstrates,
plenty of Chinese loom over the average American. It’s still
a little jarring to see a Chinese youth north of six feet, but ever
more will venture out in the world.

Just as tattoos have become common among younger Americans, you
see them increasingly on Chinese as well. There’s also
graffiti, which I’ve always viewed as a form of urban
tattoos. I have no idea what it says—perhaps “We love
Xi Jinping.” Still, I rather doubt it.

If anything proves the dominance of American culture it is
pervasive English labeling. I admire the English-speaking Chinese
with whom I deal. It has to be as difficult to go from symbols to
alphabet as the other way. I can tell the Chinese characters are
different, but have no sense of the patterns or what to look for to
distinguish one from another. But it’s getting ever easier
for an English speaker in Beijing and other big cities, at least.
Signs proclaim “24 hour bank,” “nail
salon,” “stylish haircuts,” and, of course,
“massage.”

Another sign of globalization, or blight in the view of some, is
the spread of U.S. fast food restaurants. Want McDonald’s,
Pizza Hut, or KFC? No problem. And Starbucks, of course. They
aren’t particularly cheap by Chinese standards. But for an
adventurous Chinese citizen or Western visitor desperate for a
taste of home, they satisfy.

And while no self-respecting Chinese diner would be caught using
Western utensils, most better restaurants have the latter for
helpless visitors. Indeed, in many eateries the staff automatically
brings a fork and knife to anyone with a Western face. I was proud
to use chopsticks—quite competently, after so many visits to
Asia, I hasten to add! But imagine the typical Washington
restaurant keeping a stock of chopsticks for Chinese visitors. It
ain’t likely.

Mao triggered the horrific Cultural Revolution 50 years ago, a
dubious anniversary. Yet the 1959 restaurant chain celebrates the
communal dining which arose during the disastrous Great Leap
Forward, during which millions of people starved. Go figure. Too
bad the Chinese people then did not eat as well as the restaurant
patrons do today.

Living in a country which has gone through such wrenching change
may make people more receptive to innovation. Uber has been
involved in a bitter battle to gain market share in the Chinese
market. It announced a merger with a much larger competitor while I
was visiting Beijing, essentially surrendering. But many Chinese as
well as foreign expats now are as comfortable ordering a car online
as hailing a cab.

The iPhone and its competitors have captured China as thoroughly
as the rest of the world. Speaking to a university class leaves one
looking out at kids getting online or texting friends. But it’s
hard to complain. If they come upon a difficult word while talking
with you they whip out their phone and pull up a translation.

Lots of Chinese youth hope to study in America. A small but
increasing number are forgoing the grueling “Gaokao,”
which determines which Chinese university they can attend, instead
studying for the SAT or ACT, and English-proficiency TOEFL. An
entire industry has sprung up to help kids prepare for and apply to
U.S. colleges. A close friend works for one of the companies, UFEIC
(University Foundation Education Instruction Center), and had me
stop by to chat with some university-bound students. They also
impressed me.

Like their American counterparts, they are worried about jobs.
While it’s tough for university grads in the U.S. to find something
commensurate with their education, it’s even harder in China.
Speaking English, studying abroad, and understanding foreign
cultures all give them a leg up.

In general, Chinese students want to meet Americans, but not
become Americans. They like Western-style liberties—I’ve yet
to meet a Chinese kid who is happy that President Xi essentially
decides what can be seen and said on the internet. But they love
their people’s history, believe in their country, and tend to be
rabid nationalists. Taiwan is part of China, and that’s it. China
owns everything in the South China Sea. No question. Even more so,
wanting to go to the U.S. doesn’t mean wanting Washington to boss
their country around.

Unsurprisingly, many feel pushed. Parental expectations are as
great if not greater in China. The culture emphasizes filial piety,
creating helicopter parents of the worst sort. On this trip one
concerned mother dragged her high school daughter to lunch with me
and my friend who works to help kids study abroad. Mom even
insisted on accompanying us on a museum visit. It was
uncomfortable, but she was determined to give her child every
advantage, including, apparently, hanging out with a couple much
older English-speakers from the West.

Still, an increasing number say their folks’ advice is to find
what makes them happy. Moreover, with the end of the one-child
policy I’ve started to see an occasional family with more than one
kid. Overall fertility levels haven’t changed much. But regaining
this important aspect of human liberty—though more than two
still is verboten—is a vital change.

One of the strangest aspects of visiting China always has been
the absence of families with multiple children. You never saw a mom
struggling to both carry a baby and manage a toddler, or father
with a couple tweens in tow. There was only one kid, which even
Chinese acknowledged usually was treated like royalty by his or her
parents and two sets of grandparents.

Unfortunately, perhaps under U.S. encouragement China is picking
up some of Washington’s worst habits. No surprise, the PRC has its
equivalent of the TSA. I’ve rarely found Chinese employees to be
much different than their American counterparts. They
unenthusiastically perform boring tasks which seem only vaguely
related to protecting travelers from murderous hijackers.

This time I ended up choosing the wrong line. The scanning
machine operator was the anal sort who took twice as long as the
fellow one line over in looking at everything—and flagged
virtually every bag to be emptied, with both bag and contents sent
back through the machine for a second go. The line barely inched
along. Both my carry-ons were thus treated, leading to a double
interrogation by another, English-challenged, security guy. As I
repacked my bags the guards closed the lane, as if it had been a
set up just to punish me for snickering every time I saw an image
of Mao. I departed damning TSA for forcing its (mal)practices on
the rest of the world.

It’s always exciting to visit the PRC. But it is most
interesting to learn more about China, which is vastly larger, more
complex, and far better than the nominal communist party which
still rules. It’s impossible to predict what China will ultimately
become. Most important is that it becomes free. Then the people of
China will be able to decide their own future.